Norse Peak (winter)

Norse Peak 12/12/15 Due to elevated avalanche risks and an impeding blizzard, we chose to avoid Bullion Basin and instead launched from the summer trailhead, 4.1 miles from SR410. Conditions were snowy and very windy. After the switchbacks, we played it safe and climbed the ridgeline on the northern edge of the bowl to point 6304, then followed the Norse ridge southeastward toward Norse. The approach to point 6304 was windswept and crusty. Wherever the ridgeline was protected from the wind, the snow was deep and powdery. As we proceeded along the ridge, the winds increased. We crossed the first of the three false summits along the rim of Big Crow Basin and struggled to crest the second false summit, but unanimously decided that the winds were too strong to face the third (and historically the windiest) false summit. We dropped 200 vertical feet westward off the crest to avoid the wind and then trended NW through the woods (and deep powdery snow) to the trail. As always, we had a wonderful day and topped it off with excellent Thai food in Enumclaw.